Salad Is Slaughter

The last time Janet was in Phoenix, someone told her that he used to live in San Jose many years ago and that there was a great pizza place near the freeway. Was it still there? She figured it was House of Pizza.  We’ve driven past House of Pizza hundreds of times on our way to Sharks games, and the parking lot is always full. We were curious but never got around to trying it. We decided to try it last Thursday before we went to see The Lion King.

The House of Pizza is just outside what can charitably be called a “working class neighborhood.” The clientele for the most part appeared to have come from the surrounding area. When we walked in I immediately lowered my expectations. There were a lot of kids and the place seemed to be set up for families. We walked to the back to place our order. The menu board said that a small pizza would feed two to five people, so we got a small combo. I think it cost around fifteen bucks. The girl at the cash register handed us a Styrofoam cup with the number 54 written on it.

We stopped by the bar on the way to a table off in the corner and picked up a couple of beers – a Dos Equis and a Rolling Rock – for about six bucks, including tip. So far, a pretty inexpensive dinner compared to some we’ve had in the past. But how was the food?

I was shocked. I expected a bland pizza suitable for the kids, but just the opposite was true. The sauce was spicy and full of flavor. The toppings also had a lot of flavor. I’m not 100% sure, but the cheese seemed to be real mozzarella, and not the stuff other places call mozzarella. The crust was thin and had a good crunch to it; not soggy at all.  Although the pizza was round, they didn’t cut it in the traditional wedges.  It was sliced into more managable squares.  And they didn’t lie about the quantity.  We ate until we were stuffed, and there was still a couple of pieces left over.

When we thought about it, we shouldn’t have been surprised that the sauce and toppings had a bit of a kick. The neighborhood just on the other side of the freeway is chock full of taquerias and mercados. The local kids grew up eating spicy food.  House of Pizza has been around since 1950, so they must be doing something right. We will definitely go back there again.

We went to see the live version of Disney’s The Lion King last night. I should say up front that I don’t care much for the cartoon movie of the same thing. And not because The Lion King is a rip off of Shakespeare’s Hamlet except with singing and dancing animals. Everyone rips off Shakespeare, not just Disney. Something about that movie just doesn’t work for me and at most I tolerate it. Besides, I think South Park’s parody Cycle of Poo is a much better song than Circle of Life.

Anyway, we went downtown to see the live performance. Overall, it was pretty good but not great. And the problem wasn’t the story line, it was the singers. Very few of them could be considered top tier stars. There were exceptions, of course. Young Simba sounded like a young Michael Jackson and was very good. Both young and old Nala show a lot of potential as well. Mufasa had a decent voice, but when he appeared in the reflection I had to mutter, “Luke, I am your father.”  So, there were bright spots.

But grown Simba? Whenever he would sing I kept thinking, “Is that all you’ve got? Why are you the star?” I was not impressed with him at all. Simba and most of the rest of the cast would have gotten through the first round of American Idol, but would never have made the finals. Their voices just lack the power and emotion I’ve seen in other musicals.

Scar was pretty good, but should have been more evil. And Simba’s mother could have been dropped from the show and no one would have noticed. Also, I find the characters Timon, Pumbaa, and Ed very grating. I don’t know why, I just do.

Of the few live musicals I’ve seen, The Lion King doesn’t compare well.

Technorati Tags: theater

Feared?  Try hated for no rational reason.

It looks like scientists in this country are tired of the lies, misquotes, and general bullshit coming out of the Discovery Institute and their discredited hypothesis (it’s not good enough to be a theory) known as Intelligent Design.  There’s a new organization called the Alliance for Science that’s trying to actively fight back against the Discovery Institute’s goal of keeping people ignorant, superstitious sheep who won’t think for themselves.

Or, as Darwin himself said: “Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science”

You too can join the Alliance for Science and help them in their fight against evil.  Their web site also has lots of good information on what evolution is, what evolution is not, understanding creationism, and more.  There’s some good stuff on the site.  Check it out:  http://www.allianceforscience.org/

Hawaiian barbeque places have been springing up like mushrooms all over the bay area. Up till now I hadn’t tried one, but last week I noticed a place call Mohala Hawaiian BBQ next to a Mexican place I go to sometimes. Today I wanted something different so I decided to give it a try.

I got there about 11:20 and the place was empty.  By the time I left around noon, there were a couple more people in the place.  I didn’t really know what to order, so I picked something from the daily special board. In this case it was pork prepared two different ways. The first was wrapped in some kind of leaves (banana, maybe?) and the second was mixed with cabbage. The lunch came with two scoops of white rice and macaroni salad.

Instead of a plate, the lunch was served in a covered Styrofoam container. I know I said “for here” when I ordered, and I even confirmed it after I paid. I assume that this is the way lunch is served. The first thing I noticed was the odor which almost knocked me over when I opened the lid. I assume the odor came from the cabbage, which can smell quite unpleasant when it is cooked.

After I got past the smell I sampled the two different pork dishes. The one wrapped in leaves was dry but had an okay flavor from the leaves. I tried adding both soy sauce and red chili sauce, but neither improved it much. The pork mixed with cabbage wasn’t much better. It had a little different flavor, but it was also dry. Neither dish was awful, they just weren’t very good. The white rice was white rice, and it tasted like white rice. What can you say about that? The macaroni salad was something straight from a plastic container that you’d find at your local grocery store.

Maybe I just made the wrong selection for lunch, but based upon what I had today I don’t understand why Hawaiian BBQ places are showing up everywhere. I was not impressed.